leaving an avenue of escape open for the newcomer, of which it declined to make use.
I shall have to kill it, thought Brenner.
The beast continued to regard the newcomer.
The newcomer whimpered again.
Then the beast, in the fashion of the sovereign it was, closed off the retreat of the newcomer. It could now withdraw only to the cliffs, where, trapped, it might be dealt with as the beast pleased.
The newcomer presumably was not familiar with this territory, and would not realize the implications of what the beast had now done.
In regarding the newcomer, you see, the beast, had begun to be swayed by imperatives which, though scarcely understood, were quite as forcible in their impact as those of interspecific aggression.
It lunged forward a step, violently, snarling, and the female leaped up, turning about, and fled.
In a moment, of course, she realized the cliffs were before her and the beast behind her.
She stopped suddenly, and turned about, frightened, frenziedly, two or three times, having nowhere to go, and then crouched down, whimpering.
The beast then took her by the back of the neck and dragged her bodily to the surface of the platform. There, lying on her side, at his feet, she looked up at him in terror. She lifted one paw, pleadingly, the claws retracted. She whimpered.
No, no, thought Brenner, I must not do this! What could come of this could mean the doom of the Pons! What could come of this but the terror of beasts uncomplicated with thought, innocent in their appetites and might, not fathers but hunters and killers, carnivores, predators, who in merciless innocence would claim the forests for themselves!
The female whimpered.
Yes, thought the beast, I remember! And it smelled then, suddenly, the readiness of the female, and it enflamed it like storms and wine. Here was the meaning of the dreams and the memories!
Here was the female!
Here was what something in it had been waiting for, what it had longed for, yearningly, on the cliffs, during the long nights.
Now it was here, at his feet. Its petty attempt at resistance, frightening even her, who must have instinctually recognized its possible consequences, had been, at the pleasure of the beast, he having permitted her to consider the matter for a time, and anticipate his response, utterly crushed. Her flight, ritualistic or not, had been abruptly terminated, stopped short, before bleak, towering, seemingly impassable, walls of stone. Now she lay before him, on her side, dragged bodily to where he wished her. She lay before him, helpless and submissive. His power over her was complete, effective, uncompromising and ruthless. She squirmed a little. She made a tiny, mewing sound. The beast looked down upon her. She was clearly in estrus. The beast sensed not only the apprehension in her, but the need in her, the readiness in her, her heat. The scents, and the sight of her, were heady. The flanks! The lines of her body! The smells of her! These things were maddening to the beast. Why then had she not assumed the position, wondered the beast. It then, with its prehensile paws, positioned the female. She seemed to cry out, startled, held, helpless. Is she so young, asked the beast. No, it told itself. Clearly not. Can it be that a female this trim, this beautiful, this exciting, does not understand the meaning of this? Can a female this lithe, this attractive, not have been so had many times before? Surely many such as I have used her previously for such purposes, to sate our lusts? How, then, is it that she is reluctant, or perplexed? Are her instincts confused?
As she seemed distraught he exposed his claws somewhat, entering them a bit into her body, not to hurt her but to hold her the more securely, and that she would understand herself the more securely held. His grip, anchored now, was quite tight. She made a pathetic little sound, as though pleading for mercy. She was absolutely helpless.
She felt then the touch of him and, suddenly, terrified, she tried to free herself.
This, of course, her struggles, was unavailing. It only resulted in the tightening of his grip upon her. She whimpered in pain.
The beast found her behavior puzzling.
She was then very still.
She had learned that she could not escape, even if she wished to do so.
She did not wish to deepen the hold of the claws in her.
She felt then again the gentle, exploratory, and prodding touch of him.
This is a strange female, thought the beast.
Then the